Enchiladas are the perfect way to both keep your family healthy and sneak in some extra healthy with nutritious vegetables kids can’t taste in all that semi-spicy enchilada goodness.
I’ve been researching vegetables high in vitamin A and carotenoids lately to help ensure my kids’ eyes stay sharp and healthy and was surprised to learn that orange peppers, tomatoes, red peppers (and even corn tortillas) are all good ways to get more vitamin A into your diet.
Which brings to mind an easy way to sneak these kinds of veggies into your meals – red sauce. Red sauce disguises the taste of so many vegetables if it’s spicy, whether it’s Mexican spices or Italian ones. So what I do with my canned enchilada sauce (and yes, I use canned enchilada sauce – we all need to save time in certain areas and my kids like the store-bought kind with this particular condiment). Some things, you’ve just got to go with it. Life’s too short.
So I take that canned enchilada sauce they love – Old El Paso or La Preferida – and I whir this in a blender with some orange peppers and carrots until they’ve practically evaporated right into it. And I use corn tortillas and serve chips, salsa, and queso dip at the table. Finding ways to sneak in extra cheese for my kids means more calcium for their growing bones – and that’s super important. So I encourage cheese and full-fat pasture-fed milk, all the way.
What Spicy Peppers Are Mild Enough for Kids and Healthy, Too?
Spicy peppers are generally a no-no with kids. Most kids don’t like spicy peppers and you don’t want their little mouths getting burned. But I’ve found a sweet pepper and non-spicy Spanish pepper that just a small serving of provides the RDA of vitamin C for an adult – let alone a child: banana peppers.
Banana peppers are those peppers that Subway has made so popular by putting them on their Italian sub sandwiches. They’re great on ciabatta sandwiches (my favorite sandwich, too). They are extremely easy to grow, and they sell them fresh everywhere from Kroger to Walmart. And they’re cheap. You can whir these up with some orange peppers, carrots, and extra tomatoes, right into that enchilada sauce and make a chunky enchilada sauce that’s even more delicious. If it loses a tinge of its enchilada sauce flavor, add the following: 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. of cumin, sea salt, and a bit of tomato sauce. Voilà. It will be perfect!
How to Make Ahead and Store?
Enchiladas are pretty forgiving for storage – but I doubt you’ll have leftovers. However, just in case you do, store them carefully in airtight containers and refrigerate for two days tops or they’ll fall apart – in that case, extract portions to put on top of taco salads. Delicious.
Serving Suggestions
I serve these with my calcium-loaded Chile Con Queso dip, some tortilla chips, my Easy Bean Dip, some homemade Watermelon Salsa, which my husband adores, and my Buffalo Chicken Dip, which my husband also adores, and which I keep bubbling in the slow cooker because it gets me so much mom-love. I mean, I can’t keep people from hugging me, while they reach behind me to lift the lid off my slow cooker and swipe some.
Healthy Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup yellow onion diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 2 large skinless boneless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
- 1 4.5 ounces can green chilies
- kosher salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
- 1 15 ounces can black beans drained and rinsed
- 7 large tortillas your choice of flour or whole wheat
- 1 batch homemade red enchilada sauce or store-bought equivalent
- 2-3 cups shredded cheese regular or dairy-free
- Optional toppings: cilantro red onion, sour cream (regular or dairy-free)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F to get things started.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and sauté garlic and onion until fragrant.
- Add the shredded chicken and green chilies to the skillet, seasoning with salt and pepper, and warm through.
- Lightly coat a 9×13 baking dish with olive oil spray to prevent sticking.
- Fill each tortilla with the chicken mixture and a spoonful of black beans, roll them up tightly, and place seam-side down in the baking dish.
- Once all tortillas are filled and placed, evenly pour the enchilada sauce over them and top with shredded cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 20 minutes.
- Let the enchiladas cool slightly before serving with your choice of toppings.
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